Monday, 24 September 2012

Wall Street Journal, India (Part 1)

Bollywood actor Rahul Khanna, who has somehow won few heroines’
hearts in his recent films, tweets about Hemingway, bow ties and
chocolate bars.
In the last few years, Mr. Khanna has added some plum roles in
well-done romances to his international and genre-defying resumé. He has
also been using Twitter to win the affections of filmi fans who
appreciate spelling, wit and the occasional goofy photo in online
updates.
The Wall Street Journal’s India Real Time spoke with the actor about
his unique use of Twitter, his multi-cultural filmography and his
thoughts on the film industry. Edited excerpts:WSJ: Your Twitter profile
description —“boutique Bollywood actor”—manages to be evocative and
self-aware and still within the confines of Twitter space limits. Mr. Khanna: It was born out of necessity. When I
meet new people, especially outside of India, and they learn I’m an
actor in the Indian film industry, they always go, “Oh, so you must do
5-10 films a year.” It can get tedious trying to explain the esoteric
space I occupy in such a prolific industry. I had been hearing the term
“boutique” used to describe everything from hotels to investment
companies and realized it was also quite apt for me. I decided to try
using it and found it always got my point across—plus a good laugh.

WSJ: I assume you realize that your Twitter persona could be
described as “the thinking woman’s crumpet,” to modify a description I
once heard of Emma Thompson. It’s a niche that I don’t think anyone else
in the Hindi film industry occupies—or even tries to, perhaps because
they know they couldn’t do it. What do you like about using Twitter?Mr. Khanna: Ha! Discerning are my favorite kind of
women. They always have the best taste! I seriously feel I have the
nicest Twitter followers. I hear so many horror stories from celebrity
friends about how they get bombarded by abusive, inappropriate tweets on
a daily basis but I’ve never experienced that. Although I don’t tweet
that frequently, I really enjoy the dynamic I have with my followers. We
seem to “get” each other and make each other laugh. It’s like a perfect
relationship. I know so many of my followers by name and/or profile
picture and have often bumped into them at events, airports and walking
down the street in various countries. One young lady even flew from
Germany to Bombay to meet me.
For a long time I flailed around, trying to find a comfortable
platform where I could share information and be accessible to people who
were interested in me and I feel fortunate to have finally found my
“niche,” so to speak, on Twitter. It appeals to the minimalist in me:
It’s clean, uncomplicated and allows plenty of control and
privacy. It’s a very civilized way to have a web presence and it has
certainly opened up many new doors for me.This
interview is testament to that. Given my dismal relationship with stocks
and shares, who’d have imagined I’d ever make it to The Wall Street
Journal?

WSJ: Have you ever hit the “tweet” button and then thought “Uh-oh, what have I just done?” Mr. Khanna: Every single time. I’m a bit OCD and I
spend quite a bit of time composing and checking a tweet before I click
send. In spite of which, about 80% of the time, after posting, I think
of a better way of saying something and wish I could go back and edit
it. My worst Twitter nightmare is realizing too late that I’ve posted a
tweet with an incorrect spelling or a missing apostrophe.

WSJ: What’s the funniest or most surprising exchange you’ve had on Twitter?Mr. Khanna: One time I had a cold and I tweeted
“Perhaps I can use my recovery time to write books under the nom de
plume, Ian Phlegming. Should I start with ‘A View to a Chill’ or
‘Coldfinger’?” It prompted a hilarious flood of suggestions from
followers like: “You Only Sneeze Twice,” “License to (Ny)Quil,” “The
World is Not Cough,” “From Ranbaxy with Love,” “The Man with the Cold
‘N’ Pun.” I remember laughing hysterically at those.

WSJ: You’re a person who chooses his words carefully. What do
you think of the term “Bollywood?” Do titles like “I Hate Luv Storys”
give you the heebie-jeebies?Mr. Khanna: I don’t have a problem with
“Bollywood” at all. It’s silly but is now a globally recognized brand
name and is here to stay. I do hate SMS abbreviations, though and, most
of all, those ridiculous numerology spellings, which make me cringe. But
I also firmly believe in live and let live.

WSJ: What do you think of the kinds of writing we’ve seen in
films lately, especially since you’ve been in “Love Aaj Kal” and “Wake
Up Sid,” both of which are examples of the really nicely done romances
in the last few years?Mr. Khanna: I am a big advocate of fully developed
scripts. I love ambiguity in art but not behind the scenes and I really
need organization to be able to focus. I think one of the reasons I
never dove headfirst into the mainstream Bollywood deep end at the
beginning of my career was that I was scared off by projects that wanted
to start without a finished script. The prospect of negotiating
dialogues written on set and vague scheduling were terrifying to me. A
lot of people were baffled and offended that what was such standard
practice at the time would be an issue for me and felt that I thought I
was too good for it. But, to me, it just seemed like starting a building
without a blueprint and I was concerned it would be difficult for me to
deliver under those circumstances. I am overjoyed to see that changing
today. Filmmakers are spending months, if not years, developing scripts
and, as a result, we’re seeing so much more nuance, refinement and
variety on screen.

Beth Watkins has been blogging for more than five years at Beth Loves Bollywood. She
is an expert on Bollywood history and lore as well as contemporary
movies and actors. You can follow Ms. Watkins on Twitter at@BethLovesBolly.